Complete this Thought...

23 comments:

encourage 21st century learning, have more collaborative time for teachers on inservice days (instead of expensive speakers), and have a hard line stance with teachers and students when it comes to attendance, dress code, and work expectations.

Allow every teacher to choose a topic of their choice to teach as an elective. Allowing teachers the space and autonomy to innovate will keep them fresh and bringing new ideas to the table for the areas that are state or district mandated.

encourage the collaborative sharing of the knowledge and experience on staff before heading to external sources. It is amazing how 21st century social networking theory and experience and transfer into the classrooms (eg through blogs etc).

Make a point to be in every classroom as often as possible. Of course administrators have responsibilities outside the classroom, but every thing they do is supposed to be directly tied to the success of the students. How can they know truly what is happening--the wonderful and the not so, unless they are there to witness it? There is no need to wait to be invited.

encourage teacher collaboration, support teachers in every way possible, encourage projects and team work, visit classrooms and talk to students, work WITH the faculty, parents and students to make the school the best it could be.

...provide high support to my teachers: provide ample professional development opportunities, advocate for them (in terms of time off, promotions, class size), allow them to take ownership of curriculum development, and encourage them to innovate in the classroom.

...hold teachers to high expectations: ensure that all teachers are following accepted best practices, properly assessing and documenting student performance, dressing professionally & arriving on time, and holding students accountable to same expectations.

I love this question, and it is particularly timely for me as I have been a teacher for 20 years, but will begin as a principal next year. My list: model use of social networking tools and other forms of technology and give teachers time to play with the tools and each other in order to learn how to use them; be out in the classrooms -see the wonderful teaching going on and validate teachers in that, as well as the not-so-wonderful and support teachers in improving; know the children - understand how they learn, what they love, help them learn to problem solve situations in and out of the classroom, celebrate with them; be the lead learner in the school - pass on information and articles about current issues in education as well as best practices; say "yes" as much as possible.

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Teach Paperless: Now!

TeachPaperless began in February 2009 as a blog detailing the experiences of one teacher in a paperless classroom. It has grown to be something much more than that. In January 2011, TeachPaperless became a collaboratively written blog dedicated to conversation and commentary about the intertwined worlds of digital technology, new media, and education.

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